


the world's youngest jaegar pilot and the world's smartest jaegar.

by NoncanonGirlfriend



Category: Pacific Rim (2013), Terminator - All Media Types, Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Pacific Rim Fusion, Canon Dead Character, Gen, Other
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-08-28
Updated: 2016-08-28
Packaged: 2018-08-11 12:10:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,660
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7891744
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NoncanonGirlfriend/pseuds/NoncanonGirlfriend
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Miles Dyson created a Jaegar called Skynet that became the first of its kind to be self-aware.</p><p>Years later Sarah Connor and her son become the pilots of another semi-conscious Jaegar, one in which John finds his first true friend.</p>
            </blockquote>





	the world's youngest jaegar pilot and the world's smartest jaegar.

**Author's Note:**

> smallish fic based on a pacific rim au i was developing

[August 3, 2025]

"Your Jaegar is the first in a line of many," Dyson explains, pushing his foot off the floor to send him skidding in his chair back over to the computers. Behind him the Connors sit and watch as he shuffles papers and parts around. 

"It's based off of Skynet, and because it functions under the same two-pilot system of every other Jaegar, has only a small chance of becoming corrupted. Your machine will be able to learn, adjust, and has vocal capacity, but it must learn how to use it by itself. It's less high-functioning than a human, and yet more than a robot," he throws words back towards Sarah and John, gesturing with his hands, a mix of excitement and fear crossing his face.

Sarah stands, leaning casually across a desk, twirling a pen between her fingers, voice as slow and rough as usual. "There's still a chance it'll be a repeat of Skynet, and this time it'll be John and I inside."

Dyson nods, facing them in his rolling chair with hands clasped. "Yes. It's a risk we have to take towards more effective Jaegars."

In her mind Sarah prepares to shout, to throw Dyson to his desk and tell him to his face that John Connor is her son and at ten, if he passes, he will be the youngest Jaegar pilot the world has ever seen and she will not let him be sent off in a prototype, and then the look in Dyson's brown eyes breaks her. She knows that look, of everything and everyone he has lost.

Silently they agree, all while John simply sorts through blueprints of their machine.

~~~

[August 27, 2025]

John and Sarah eat dinner in Sarah's quarters deep in the Shatterdome, scraping cheap food off cheaper plates that make everything taste of metal. Their base is stored off the Gulf of Mexico, in the kind of weather that Sarah is accustomed to, the kind of uncomfortable thick air that pushes your patience. 

"John-," Sarah begins, causing her son to snap his head up, attention to her as she's taught him, "your test is tomorrow."

"I know," is all he says.

"Don't fail." She stuffs a forkful of salad in her mouth, keeping her eyes down, focusing on the dressing that gleams under florescent lights.

He doesn't respond. The rest of their meal they take in silence, and eventually John says goodnight to his mother, leaving her alone in her pristine room with the one bed. She hasn't been in couples housing in over a decade. Not since her own accident, her own loss-

Sometimes when she lays in her bed, holding John in her arms, she can see Kyle, see him laughing and shaking his head, filled with affection for his family. Not that he ever got to meet his son.

A cool shower will clear her mind, she decides, and stumbles past her desk towards her bathroom.

~~~

[August 28, 2025]

"One-two!" The overseer calls, keeping a close eye on John and his much older opponents. His small size and quickness gives him an advantage, allowing him to practically bite at their ankles. The next potential partner steps into the ring, eyeing John, staff at the ready.

John is the same.

Chest heaving and face gleaming with sweat he swings at the man and quickly ducks, rolling behind him and with a shout John digs his elbow behind the mans knee: he falls. John is fueled with adrenaline, blood pumping, head rushing- in less than seconds he has him pinned down with the staff. Quickly he glances towards the sidelines where Sarah waits.

Her eyes glimmer with pride.

"One-three!"

This continues until "Three-twelve!" and finally John is done, dirt smeared on his cheek, palms calloused and rough, legs shaking from the intensity. 

"Well done, Mr. Connor." The woman's smooth voice goes right through him. He's passed.

Sarah grasps his shoulder, containing her smile, speaking meaninglessly about verification and practice or whatnot.

For the first time since Kyle Reese was killed in an explosion right before her eyes Sarah Connor has a copilot. Her son.

~~~

[September 14, 2025]

John's helmet clatters to the ground and he curses. Suiting up for his first mission in the Jaegar was more difficult than he imagined. Sarah glances over, briefly, already situated and exploring the head of their Jaegar. Its skeletal frame is unconventional but allows for more speed and agility, as well as maneuvering its weapons, something that plays into both of their strengths. 

Dyson calls it the T-800, Sarah calls it her job.

"Get ready," Sarah barks, latching into her seat, panels appearing in front of her by the click of a button that she quickly dismisses. Nimble fingers confirm their stability as John slides into his own position, taking a deep breath.

Commands are called back and forth, John remains silent while Sarah prepares them for drift. 

A shock: a blue light and a jolt- his brain is flooded, blurring frames of a younger Sarah laughing, kissing Kyle, holding John, crying, screaming, fire- Sarah forces them past that, her voice which now seems so distant reminds him to not be caught in a single memory- his own join and intermingle, mostly of her, mostly of his mother and then they are synced. They've drifted.

The connection holds when their commander calls for drop. John takes a moment to reflect on their first real time together in this machine, his stomach rising to his mouth- Sarah seems much more contained, hardened, prepared, ready.

He's still falling apart and she can sense it, quickly jolting him back to reality, Dyson keeps them updated over the mic. He sounds much less nervous than John guesses he feels, but their scientist remains collected, instructing the both of them on what to do.

"This Kaiju- it's not normal. It's somehow absorbed an old Jaegar. It's powerful. Fast. A Jaegar like Skynet, but with an emphasis on tracking and attack. We called it T-1000," Dyson grimly relays.

"Copy. We'll learn as much as we can and get out alive," Sarah calls back.

"Hey, mom? Won't going after it cause it to track us, 'cause our Jaegar is basically the same thing-" John silences, feeling Sarah's worry and stress invade his brain. He nods.

Their machine moves through the water, the dark of night covering their steps.

"It should be around here somewhere," Dyson mutters, tapping the display on his end. 

As quick as sound: it hits them, coming at John's operating arm with a blade that would surely bring him offline if he didn't jerk away at the last second, filling his and Sarah's mind with racing panic that his mother tries to combat- they swing around, dancing around it-

It's hideous. 

The T-1000 is an avian Kaiju, with cords and wires and robotic parts protruding through grisly flesh, plating running up and down its body in patches, enhanced eyes, some sort of awful fusion illuminated in the harsh light of the T-800's lamps.

And the T-800 does its first bit of thinking.

Before either John or Sarah have time to jump, their Jaegar is already out of the way, adding another wave to the drift between its pilots: John raises his arm at the same time as Sarah, hitting the creature in front of them with a beam of something that John can't remember when the water is rushing up in front of his face and the only light is from their machine and the hybrid in front of them-

The ocean swallows T-1000. The waves have been growing and suddenly tear its footing away, dragging it down and away, while pushing T-800 up, almost rejecting it wading through the deep.

As quickly as it comes it's gone.

The sit in silence for minutes, scanning the area, until Dyson nervously cuts in.

"Did you see how your Jaegar thought ahead for you?"

"Yeah," Sarah replies, breathless, finally starting to walk again. John works with her, heading back to shore, "but did you see that monster."

Dyson goes silent.

~~~

[October 27, 2025]

Many more missions have collected data on T-1000, all of them lead by John, Sarah, and their T-800, which again proves to be a mechanical-programming wonder.

Sarah is taking lunch down on the shore, John can barely see her from his vantage point atop a sitting T-800. He bites into his ham sandwich and peers closely at his mother, who seems to be following some sort of a path along the beach. They're going to be out for a few days, finding out more about T-1000 all while staying safe and close to land, mainly observing its patterns. 

"I can't deal with this shit a lot of the time, not like I can tell mom that, she'd freak." John scoffs, speaking to T-800, shoving the remainder of his food into the pocket of his army jacket. "She wants me to fill my father's shoes, to be some great pilot."

The T-800 remains silent and still. John smiles, patting the top of its head where he's sitting.

"You're good, you know that? You just... listen. I don't think mom can feel it- that rush when we're in the drift, and you- you just, you're there too, y'know?" He exhales, running his hand through his hair. "I know it sounds wild, you're a... machine." Vaguely Dyson's words about semi-consciousness come to mind.

T-800 whirs.

"You get it," John grins affectionately, standing up and sliding off his jacket. He's still in his tight pilot's uniform, a soft blue material that allows easy breathing and quick control. The patches on his thighs, back, and feet are black, as well as in some other smaller places.

Soon he spots Sarah beginning her trek back and drops back down into the cockpit, waiting for her to climb back up the hill to get back into his head.

~~~

[November 16, 2025]

The T-1000 is spotted only miles away from base.


End file.
